This is a review that seems like another review about a book I almost didn’t write up, but it is not really. Oh, yes, I almost did not write up The Fabric of Us by Aditi Anand (due later May 2026; read via an online reader copy) because I could not think of enough words for a full review. At least not by itself. It was only when I read Where Are You, Eddie? A Companion to Michael Rosen’s Sad Book by Michael Rosen and Gill Smith (due mid July 2026; also read via an online reader) that I figured I had enough to say.
This is a review about books dealing with death. However, it is not the usual take. First, The Fabric of Us has two dads. Second, Where Are You, Eddie? is about the loss of a child. And finally the two just did not feel like the “same old” path of grief. The Fabric of Us follows a child who never mentions her father has left or died, just that he is no longer there. There are no obvious stages of grief. There is no “he is in heaven” or other things we say when a person dies (gone to a better place, is one with Earth, etc). There is just the child and her other father finding a way to help make something sad, less so by filling in the void of the passing has left. This hole is not only in them personally but the home as well.
This is a review about dealing with the loss in a way that one realizes it is not a loss or an ending, but a way to keep the loved one close in a special way. The father of the story (in a either really sweet or creepy moment) talks to the family cat and asks, “Where Are You, Eddie?” At first, he feels that Eddie is gone forever. He is not physically on the bus (which Eddie enjoyed being on), or making sandcastles with his siblings, or causing mischief on school picture day. Yet, the father sees that Eddie is still with him because he is remembered and was (and still is) loved by those who knew him. I have not read Rosen’s Sad Book, but now I am thinking I just might have too.
This is a review that has two books with a similar theme, but different illustrations. The first is not fully “realistic” but not cartoon either. There are good colors and needed details. Perhaps they are a bit on the “lighter” side, but they do show both the happy and sadder times well. I was not WOWED by them, but enjoyed how they keep a tough story with more than a hint of hope. The second book is not like the other, but also has good colors, details and tone. However, it does have a slightly more somber feeling to things. There is a bit of hope, but it is aimed at an older audience and perhaps less for kids and more for adults, especially one who has lost a child. With that said, it is still a good grief book for the older child.